Pseudomelanoma of Anterior Chamber Caused by Implantation of Iris Pigment Epithelium

Abstract

Both free-floating and fixed pigmented cysts occur in the anterior chamber.^1-8 Although an occasional fixed or implanted pigmented cyst may simulate a malignant melanoma,⁸ the innocuous nature of these cysts is generally determinable on routine clinical examination. The present report concerns an eye that was enucleated because one of these cysts lodged in the anterior chamber was mistaken for a malignant melanoma. Report of Case Clinical History. —During the course of a routine examination of a 50-year-old white woman, an ophthalmologist discovered a pigmented spot in the anterior chamber angle of the patient's left eye at 4 o'clock. The remainder of his examination of both eyes revealed nothing abnormal. Two months later when the pigmented lesion had increased slightly in size, the patient was referred to another ophthalmologist. Complete ophthalmologic examination, including the use of the gonioscope and slit lamp, revealed a small, dark mass, 1.5 mm in